The owner of newspapers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania will end print publication of five newspapers.

Advance Local announced Wednesday that the Easton Express-Times and (Newark) Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest circulation newspaper, will cease publishing print editions in early 2025.

The decision was made due to rising costs, declining circulation, and reduced printing demand. the company said.

Additionally, Advance Local, owner of NJ Advance Media and New Jersey.comannounced that it will end print publication of the daily newspapers The Times of Trenton and South Jersey Times, as well as the weekly Hunterdon County Democrat.

Online newspapers for The Express-Times, The book of stars,The Trenton Times and South Jersey Times will continue to be produced seven days a week for subscribers.

The final print editions of the Express-Times and New Jersey newspapers will be published on February 2, 2025.

The latest weekly print edition of the Hunterdon County Democrat will be published on January 30, 2025, and subscribers will have access to the Star-Ledger online newspaper.

The Easton-Times newsroom staff will continue to provide strong local coverage of the region, which will also appear in lehighvalleylive.comthe company said.

“Today’s announcement represents the next step toward the digital future of journalism in the Lehigh Valley,” said Steve Alessi, president of NJ Advance Media, which operates lehighvalleyligo. “It is important to emphasize that this is a forward-thinking decision that allows us to invest more deeply than ever in our journalism and in serving our communities.”

In the Star-Ledger, Alessi said stopping print publications will allow NJ Advance Media to reallocate resources to strengthen its main newsroom. He said the newsroom has more reporters than it did a year ago and plans to continue growing in 2025 as the organization looks to bolster reporting in areas of the state that previously did not have enough coverage.

NJ Advance Media journalists will continue to produce content that appears onNew Jersey.comas well as in the online newspapers of the The book of stars,The Trenton Times and South Jersey Times.

Alessi said: “As an organisation, we have vigorously embraced the digital world and all its potential to reach new audiences and deliver value, reaching audiences on podcasts, through TikTok and Instagram, even in WhatsApp message groups. “We will continue to invest in the digital future and in cutting-edge technologies that can enrich the quality of our journalism and deliver more timely and frequent news to our users.”

In August, the most recent month for which data is available, NJ.com ranked as the No. 1 local news site in the country, according to Comscore, a media measurement and analytics company. That month, the site had 15.2 million unique visitors, putting it even ahead of national news brands like Wired, The Atlantic and Slate in the Comscore rankings.

The company will also close its production plant in Montville, New Jersey, with which it has a contract to print its newspaper.

As a result of the production facility closure, the Hudson County-based Jersey Journal also announced it will cease publication. Its final print edition will be published on February 1, 2025.

Star-Ledger leaders acknowledged that the changes will have a significant impact on the company’s current employees, as well as devoted readers of the company’s print products.

But, they said, the shift in reader habits from print to digital is in line with national trends in consumption and behavior. So far in 2024, the Star-Ledger’s print circulation is down 21% over the past year.

In recent years, newspaper production and distribution costs have skyrocketed. At the same time, a record number of users are now accessing news and information digitally from countless platforms, including websites, online newspapers and newsletters.

“This decision was not made lightly, but the reality is that the print news model cannot be sustained,” said Wes Turner, an executive who works with The Star-Ledger.

Turner said the company would provide affected employees with generous severance packages and transition assistance.